Catalytic carbonylation of olefinic and acetylenic compounds to form oxygenated derivatives with an increased content of carbon atoms is a well-established technology. Various developments and improvements are described in United States patents such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,768,968; 2,863,911; 2,876,254; 3,040,090; 3,455,989; 3,501,518; 3,507,891; 3,652,655; 3,660,439; 3,700,706; 3,723,486; 3,746,747; 3,755,419; 3,755,421; 3,793,369; 3,856,832; 3,859,319; 3,887,595; 3,906,015; 3,917,677; 3,952,034; 3,992,423; 4,102,920; 4,245,115; 4,246,183; and references cited therein.
Of particular interest with respect to the present invention is the chemical literature relating to hydroesterification of alpha-olefins to yield alkanoate esters.
In J. Org. Chem., 41, 793(1976) and J. Org., Chem., 41, 2885(1976) there is reported the synthesis of linear carboxylate esters from alpha-olefins in the presence of a homogeneous platinum complex catalyst: ##STR1##
U.S. Pat. No. 3,933,884 describes a process for preparing thioloesters by the interaction of an alpha-olefin with carbon monoxide and a thiol compound in the presence of a catalyst composed of a noble metal halide and a Group IVB metal halide and a Group VB donor ligand.
There is continuing development effort directed to improvement of processes and catalysts for carbonylation and hydroesterification of olefinic substrates to yield oxygenated or sulfurated derivatives of increased carbon content via monomeric and dimeric reaction mechanisms.
Accordingly, it is a main object of this invention to provide an improved process for conversion of aliphatic alpha-olefins into fatty acid derivatives.
It is another object of this invention to provide a process for producing alkyl thioloalkanoate by hydroesterification of 1-alkene with improved conversion and selectivity.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a stabilized palladium catalyst solution adapted for hydroesterification of olefinic hydrocarbons.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention shall become apparent from the accompanying description and illustrative processing data.